Beto O'Rourke says Planned Parenthood 'is saving the lives' of women: 'No one wants to see people die'

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke declared on a campaign stop that Planned Parenthood "is saving the lives" of women — after noting just a few seconds before that "no one wants to see people die in the wealthiest and most powerful country on the face of the planet ..."

O'Rourke's statements came after a question from a college student and "Planned Parenthood supporter" who said, treatise-like, that she's "deeply concerned about the lies that are being spread about abortion later in pregnancy. There is no such thing as abortion up until or after birth. And in the 1 percent of the time that a woman has an abortion later in pregnancy, it is due to a diagnosis of severe fetal abnormalities or a serious risk to the woman's health."

After her speech, the student asked O'Rourke what he'd do to protect women's access to abortion if elected.

What did O'Rourke have to say?

With that, O'Rourke thanked the student for her "advocacy" and launched into a pro-choice speech of his own, saying in part:

"No one wants to see people die in the wealthiest and most powerful country on the face of the planet for lack of care, so when I connect back that family planning clinics — Planned Parenthood, to be specific, in Texas is saving the lives of our fellow women, and it's a life-and-death matter in this country. Three times as deadly for women of color in this maternal mortality crisis that we have right now. I think I can find some common ground to ensure that we see the larger picture and our national public shared interest going forward. So I'll make sure that I respect those with differing points of view, that I'm listening to everybody, that I share what I just shared with you, but never compromise on the fundamental principle that health care also means every woman makes her own decisions about her own life. And that will be the test for us and whoever we nominate to the Supreme Court."